Cilan and Burgundy
by TheHuntressofstories
Summary: Sommelier shipping! Burgundy goes to the connoisseur association, requesting a mentor after years of simply traveling. She is assigned to the S-Class, Cilan, her former rival. This is about Burgundy's growing skills, growing maturity, and growing romance for her green-haired mentor.


_So I wrote this on a whim. There isn't much Cilan/Burgundy FanFics out there, something which confuses me greatly. Cilan's patience and Burgundy's impatience work so well together- And even though Burgundy claims to hate Cilan you can see the respect she has for him. As for Cilan's feelings towards her, I've always noticed affection in the way he treats her. Sure, affection isn't love, but this is a FanFic. So let me do what I want._

_Also, sorry if they seem a little out of character. They're older now, and keeping their childish personalities would erase the point of making them older. As for ages, Burgundy is 17, and Cilan is 19. Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer- If I owned Pokemon, Cilan and Burgundy would already be together. So no, I don't own it. I wish I did.**

"Burgundy, your main fault is your attitude" Cilan began, "You judge extremely quickly, and if you ever want to be an A-Class connoisseuse, you have to try and judge on the actions, not appearance"

Good god, he was boring me already. He paced in a neat line, waving his hands around for emphasis and glancing at me every so often. He criticized me, again and again, and... God, even his compliments sounded like criticism.

I'd taken a break from the life of a connoisseuse for a few years, thinking that if I struggled so hard with something that it simply wasn't meant for me. However, it was near and dear to my heart, and so I'd returned to the Connoisseur Association and requested a mentor. Of course, Cilan just so happened to be available, and now I was stuck with the annoying, S-Class Grasshead who rambled about anything and everything.

"Burgundy" Cilan said, exasperated, "Are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

"Possibly" I grinned, and he sighed, "Look, let's just skip the boring parts and get right into the training. It'll be more fun for everyone"

"No" he said sternly, "If you are to become an A-Class connoisseuse, you have to be patient" He continued to blunder through his speech and I bit my tongue to stop from yelling at him. Instead, I glanced around, taking in the scenery. Which wasn't really much.

We were at the Pokemon Center in Striaton City. I had to come and live here because Cilan couldn't take anymore time away from the gym. We were sitting outside (correction, I was sitting), next to the battle courts which I presumed we'd be training in as soon as... As soon as he finished his god-damn speech.

All of a sudden, there was silence. I glanced up in surprise, and my lilac eyes met his grassy-green ones. There was no anger in his eyes; only amusement. Amusement at what, I wondered? At my lack of attention, or at his own belief that I would pay attention?

"Sorry" I muttered, "I'll try to listen"

He smiled, a warm smile that made his green eyes light up as though a ray of sunshine had travelled through them, "Don't worry about it" he reassured, "It doesn't matter. Today I'll let you off. Tomorrow, you'd better listen"

"I will" I promised, "Thanks"

He walked over to me and offered his hand to help me up. I thought about it for a split second; I really didn't want to, but I knew I had to try and act mature if was I was going to become an A-Class connoisseuse. I'd come this close to my dream; I couldn't ruin it just because I disliked my mentor.

I accepted his hand and he pulled me, and surprisingly, he was strong, pulling me up with ease. He guided me to one of the battle courts, and we stood on opposite ends.

"Send out whichever Pokemon you like" he called, throwing a Pokeball up. His Simisage burst out, and I was reminded of the energetic Pansage that had knocked out my former Oshawott in under three minutes (one of those minutes was simply filled with myself's and Cilan's banter) Needless to say, my first gym battle didn't go so well.

I threw my own Pokeball up, and my Sawsbuck burst out, in Spring form. She was my pride and my Samurott was my joy. I loved those two Pokemon, and even though I loved all of my Pokemon like they were my children, Samurott and Sawsbuck meant everything to me.

"Hmm, a Sawsbuck" Cilan noted, "So a battle of a grass type and a part grass type. Interesting choice. You may have the first move"

"Sawsbuck, double kick!" I commanded. I'd long since given up the, '_Sil Vous Plait'_ At the end of my sentences. In all honestly, I wasn't even French- I just said French phrases because I thought they made me sound more ladylike. But that was back when I was younger. Now that I was seventeen, nearly an adult, and a B-Class connoisseuse, I'd matured. Grown up. Though I hadn't lost my spirit- It still burned brighter than the sun. Some called me 'violent' and 'touchy'. I just called me fun.

Sawsbuck leaped over the battlefield, legs outstretched. She hit the ground behind Simisage and turned, hind legs snapping out and striking- Where Simisage had been,

"Simisage, dig!" Cilan called, and Simisage disappeared into the ground, a tunnel left behind it.

"Sawsbuck, listen for the tremors. When he comes out, use Jump-Kick!" It was risky, using Jump-Kick; especially on an opponent as fast as Simisage. If Sawsbuck missed, she would crash, taking damage and leaving her wide open to attack. I wasn't too worried though; I trusted Sawsbuck.

Sawsbuck's neck straightened and she leaped, narrowly avoiding Simisage. Landing, she leapt out and struck with a vicious Jump-Kick. She was fast, faster than Simisage- but somehow, Simisage had a hold of her leg and threw her to the ground, using the momentum to glide gracefully down back to Cilan's side of the field.

"Pause!" Cilan requested, doing a dramatic bow, "It's evaluating time!"

"It is?" I muttered quietly, "Oh, right, big mouth over there needs to express himself"

"Your attacks are powerful" Cilan said, "Too powerful. Sawsbuck is faster and lighter than Simisage, but in the time she takes to gather the power to attack, Simisage intercepts. The problem here isn't your speed; it's your technique"

I'd noticed that as well, but I'd simply thought it was Sawsbuck's speed that was lacking. He'd managed to hit the nail right on the head, and my face flushed. He wasn't even Sawsbuck's trainer and yet he'd realized that much faster than I had. I was a failure. I was never going to make it to S-Class, probably not even A-Class.

"Hey" Cilan said gently, and my heard jerked up in surprise. I hadn't noticed him approach. "Don't be too hard on yourself; you're still training. Learn from this mistake, and try again tomorrow"

I sighed, "I've tried so hard; years, Cilan, years" I hurriedly added as he opened his mouth to interrupt, "And I'm barely better than when I started. Am I even cut out to be a connoisseuse?"

As soon as the doubts left my lips; all my inner demons, I blushed again. Why the hell was I telling Cilan all of this? He smiled gently, andy before I could realize what had happened my face was buried in his chest and his arms were around me,

"Of course you are" he murmured, "You're feisty, and full of life. You'll get there eventually. And until you do, I'm going to be here for you"

"Promise?" Arceus, why did I sound so unsure? I was Burgundy; I was strong.

"I promise" his grip tightened for a second before he let me go.

We trained for a little while longer, and all the while I tried to pretend that we hadn't hugged; that he hadn't held me so closely, so confidently. Because if I didn't, I'd have to face a whole bunch of emotions I wasn't ready for.

_Please, drop a review. I need to sharpen my skills if you want a better story, after all! Oh, and I apologize about the chapter length. Usually I aim for chapters about 2,000 words, and this is about 1,200. I just felt it necessary to end it here._

_Since this was written on a whim, there may or may not be a chapter 2. I've got some ideas, so I think I will make a chapter 2. As of now, there is no clear story plan, so if you have ideas (Want them to get Ice-Cream? Want Burgundy to work at the gym, in the cafe? Want another training session? Want a visit from Ash and Iris?) or requests, let me know, and I might just be able to write it._


End file.
